Tishoumaren

 Re-uploaded by request 02/24/2024.

In 2012 after armed rebellion broke out in northern Mali, Sharia law was imposed, including a ban on all secular music. Islamic fundamentalists wereseeking out musicians, burning their instruments in the streets &even cutting off their hands. Two months later soldiers overthrew the Mali government, creating turmoil throughout the country as well as power outages, fuel shortages, & daily curfews in the capital city of Bamako. Many musicians fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries where some remain in exile. Yet in spite of all that has transpired in Mali, the music has not been silenced. The bulk of that music comes from ethnic Tuareg musicians. So we see that Sahel (Saharan) or desert blues refers to both the music of these musickians as well as to the troubled times as well.

 

So although desert blues is influenced by the guitar mastery of Jimi Hendrix blended with traditional American blues combined with Tuareg, Malian or North African music & rocketed to the forefront by the political upheavals in 2012 Mali, I would be amiss if I ignored the influence of the late Ali Farka Touré & the band Tinariwen, both who preceded the 2012 revolution. 

Ali Farka Touré more than any other musickian bought West African music to a global audience. Touré was born in 1939 in the village of Kanau on the banks of the river Niger, but it wasn't until he was approaching the age of 50 that Touré’s music began to receive attention in the west, largely due to the rise of so called 'World Music' in the 1980s. 

He blended the traditional music of Mali with the early Blues guitar sound of the Mississippi delta to create something which explores the lineage of those lost songs bought over on the slave ships during the colonization of the African continent. It has been claimed that Ali Farka Touré’s music contains 'the DNA of Blues'. 

Touré retired from music altogether in 1990 to focus his efforts on his rice farm, Touré's producer convinced him to pick up his guitar again & record a new album. 1994s Talking Timbuktu won Touré a Grammy for best world music album. Not only was this award Touré's biggest success to date, it was also proof that it wasn't necessary for world music artists to dilute or alter their sound to appease western audiences. With this, Touré opened a door which has remained ajar ever since. 

 

With the door left open, in stepped Tinariwen. Tinariwen means 'deserts', plural of ténéré or 'desert' in the Tamashek dialect. Tinariwen formed in 1979 in Tamanrasset, Algeria, but returned to Mali after a peace accord was negotiated in 1995 by moderates on both sides. The group first started to gain a following outside the Sahara region in 2001 with the release of the album The Radio Tisdas Sessions. Their popularity rose internationally with the release of the critically acclaimed album Aman Iman in 2007. Finally the world had rock 'n' roll rebels whose rebellion wasn't just a metaphor. If Touré had left the door to desert blues open, Tinariwen blew it off its hinges. 

It is the new generation of Tuareg rockers like Imarhan, Bombino, Mdou Moctar, & Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré (Ali Farka's son) & bands like Afous d'Afous, Amanar, & Les Filles de Illighadad who continue to carry the torch of desert blues with its emphasis on arousing joy from suffering. 

 

 

Various - Sahel Blues, NØ Comps, 2021. 

Part One -

Tamidit in Aicha - Group Inerane
Imidiwaren - Tinariwen
Ana - Vieux Farka Touré
Ibas Ichikkou - Imarhan
Eghass Malan - Les Filles de Illighadad
Outamachek (live) - Tamikrest
Toumast - Kel Assouf
Sastanàqqàm - Tinariwen
Tahoultine - Mdou Moctar
Addektegh - Tamikrest
Ofous d’Ifous -Tartit
Dounia Tade - Amanar
Ana (Hisboyelroy’s smooth Dub) - Vieux Farka Touré
Nar Djenetbouba - Tinariwen
Waydana - Group Doueh

Part Two -

Alemin - Group Inerane
Ichichila - Tartit
Wosoubour - Vieux Farka Touré
Imarhan (The Ones who Care) - Imarhan
Tihilele - Les Filles de Illighadad
Tidit - Tamikrest
Bismillah - Tinariwen
Amghar - Kel Assouf
Nak Amadjar Nidounia - Tamikrest
Ittus - Tinariwen
Timtar (Memories) - Bombino
Yahoye - Tartit
Nizzagh Ijbal - Tinariwen
Badbada - Group Doueh

Enjoy,
NØ